


Getting Practice

by Hokuto



Series: (Nice Dream): The Gaps In Between [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Conversations, Fantasizing, Friendship, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-09 09:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/772806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hokuto/pseuds/Hokuto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A not-so-lazy day with Ino, Sakura, and Haku.  Occurs during chapter 10 of "(Nice Dream)".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Practice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IraeNicole](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IraeNicole/gifts).



Ino groaned as she flopped down in the soft, cool grass of the training field. "Ugh, it is way too hot to train," she complained, "and I'm bored anyway, we've been sparring for like, hours. I want a drink..."

Sakura wiped sweat from her forehead, privately agreeing. Training in the heat was the worst, and sparring got so repetitive... "It's not even noon yet, though," she said. "We should do at least a few more rounds, or we're never going to improve."

"Honestly, Sakura, I don't know what's gotten into you lately," Ino said. "You just want to train all the time, it's so dull..."

"I want to get better, that's all!" Sakura crossed her arms and stared down at Ino, but the blonde made no move to get up. "Maybe it's fine for you to slack off with your teammates all the time, but if I don't practice, I'll never keep up, especially since Kakashi-sensei keeps disappearing on us." If she ever got her hands on him she was really going to give him a lecture, it was so irresponsible - he just told them to practice with Haku and let Naruto and Sasuke run around with that awful Gaara boy all the time, what kind of teaching method was that?

Haku had been waiting for his next turn to spar with Ino; he said, "It probably is too hot to practice just now - it wouldn't hurt to take a short break, I think. You've both been getting a lot better lately."

"See, Haku-san agrees with me!" Ino said triumphantly as she sat up. "A break's perfect! And then if you have to we can come back later when it's cooler. Think you can live without practicing long enough for a snack break, forehead?"

"Oh, fine." Sakura uncrossed her arms and wiped more sweat from her face. "But it's your treat!"

It took Ino ages to choose a place to take their break, probably because she was being a cheapskate, and by the time she'd turned her nose up at the fifth café Sakura was ready to scream - partly from the heat, partly because guys wouldn't leave them alone. Well, fine, they left Sakura and Ino alone because they had their forehead protectors on and civilians knew better than to mess with their own village's shinobi, even the ones who were still genin, but Haku had already turned down at least three invitations to tea and a couple of other, less polite suggestions. Couldn't Ino just pick a place and let them get off the street and away from all the idiots? The heat had to be going to their heads or something.

"Hey, pretty miss! How about -"

"No!" Sakura yelled at the man who'd just gotten in their way - ew, he was at least fifty, what a creep! - and she stepped in front of Haku, glaring. "Go away and leave us all _alone_!"

The man scowled down at her, but only until he noticed her forehead protector; then his face went pale in a wonderfully satisfying way, and he muttered a hasty apology and scurried away. Sakura punched the air in triumph and turned back to the other two. "Sorry, Haku-san," she said, "I just got - I'm so sick of those guys always bothering you! They don't even take the time to notice you're a boy, what creeps..."

Ino was hiding a laugh behind her hand. "Sure you're not just jealous, forehead?" she said. "I guess it's better to be a boy who looks like a girl than a girl who acts like a -"

"Shut up, pig," Sakura said, elbowing Ino. "It's not like they're falling over themselves to get to you, either!"

"It's fine," said Haku, gently steering them towards the nearest tea shop. "It's all the same to me, really."

"Huh?" Ino gave Haku a funny look and didn't even complain about his choice of tea shop, for which Sakura was grateful; now that she'd cooled down a bit from sparring, she was really thirsty after all, and a little hungry too. "Getting hit on, or being called a girl, or what?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind being left alone," Haku said, "but I don't care very much if people think of me as a girl. I'm still myself - whether I'm a boy or a girl doesn't matter that much to me, and it feels nice to be considered a girl, sometimes."

"That's - a little weird, actually," said Ino as they settled at a table. "But in a cool way! Like, it's really kind of deep if you think about it..."

"Thank you."

Sakura buried her nose in the menu, but she wasn't thinking about what she wanted to order. Haku's words - was that kind of thing possible? To just - not feel like you were a boy or a girl, or feel like you were the other one? It was obvious that Haku could pass as a girl pretty easily if he wanted, since he did already without trying... What would he look like if he really did try to be a girl? Like that time that Itachi-san had tried Naruto's stupid jutsu and looked so beautiful, only more natural, so - oh no, she could feel her face heating up, was she blushing? Menu! She had to focus on the menu! Wait, had Ino just said something? To her? "Sorry, I was trying to decide," she said, "what did you say?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Pfft, and I thought you were the focused one here," she said, "you were totally just thinking about Sasuke-kun, weren't you? What a waste of time, he's so not worth it - I keep telling you, he's -"

"You don't know him!" Sakura hid her face in the menu again, but this time her face was hot with anger, not embarrassment. She didn't know why Ino had developed such a grudge against Sasuke lately, but she was always saying stuff like Sasuke wasn't worth Sakura's time or that he was too self-absorbed to ever notice anyone else. "You're just mad because Itachi-san's out of town on a mission so you can't try and stalk him!"

"Why don't we order now?" Haku suggested. "And then Ino can tell us her idea again."

"Oh - right," Sakura said, finally noticing the bored waitress standing by their table. "Sorry! Um, Haku-san, you go first, I'm still deciding..."

They suffered through some awkward silence as they waited for their orders, but after the food and drinks arrived, Ino said, "So anyway, what I was trying to tell you earlier is - you remember how my team did a mission with Hinata's the other day?"

"Yes..." Sakura took a big gulp of her drink and bit into the first of the sweet dango she'd ordered.

"Well, Kurenai-sensei was talking to me and Hinata to like, give us advice," Ino said, "and she told us that if we make chuunin and don't burn out or anything, in a couple of years we have to take these special kunoichi lessons."

"About what?" Sakura asked.

Ino giggled into her teacup. "Oh, forehead, you're just so innocent sometimes! You know, lessons about getting information and infiltration - by flirting. And, well, you know! That kind of thing."

Sakura gave up on trying to hide her blush. "So? If we don't have to take them for - for another few years, then wh-what's the big deal?"

"So," Ino said, drawing the word out, "I was thinking - we could go ahead and get some practice in."

" _What_?"

"Practice!" Ino wore an evil smile as she sipped her tea. "You're so hot to train all the time lately, so let's practice something fun for once! Just you, me, and Haku-san, trying out our feminine wiles on each other, learning how to kiss and be flirty, getting a head start so we can blow everyone away at those lessons..."

"No way! That's - that's just -" Sakura looked to Haku for support. "Haku-san, you don't want to - I mean, it's just - it's way too embarrassing, there's no way -" But her inner self was screaming the exact opposite. _Hell yeah, let's do it! Forget Sasuke-kun, I'll kiss the hell out of Haku-san and he'll totally fall in love with me! I'll show Ino-pig how it's done, yeah - hey, even that part could be fun!_

 _Shut up_ , she told herself.

"They are valuable skills to have," Haku said, simultaneously crushing Sakura's hopes and raising them to new heights. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt, if you really wanted to practice."

"See, Haku-san agrees with me!" Ino said triumphantly as Sakura sputtered. "C'mon, don't get all shy on me now - you know you want to see what it's like, actually kissing someone... And I mean, it's Haku-san! It's not like he's going to take advantage of us or anything - like, we could even just say he's a girl for the afternoon so it doesn't count as kissing a boy, is that okay with you, Haku-san?"

"Hmm..."

Sakura was starting to think that her heart would explode right out of her chest, or that her face was going to burst into flames. Haku looked like he was seriously considering the idea! And she couldn't help it, so was she, now. Just the thought of getting close like that to Haku and Ino, even if it was only for practice - feeling their lips against hers, holding their hands, maybe even saying out loud that they liked each other or feeding each other - it was like her dreams coming true. No, no, this was all wrong - it was Sasuke-kun she liked, she didn't really think about Haku-san (or Ino!) that way!

_Oh yes I do!_

_Shut up!_ Oh, she was getting dizzy - oh, no...

"I think it would be fine," said Haku, smiling. "After we're finished eating, of course."

"Well, yeah," Ino said, "I'm not making out with anyone until I've washed my face, anyway! And we should probably go somewhere more, you know, private - hey, forehead, are you okay?"

"You two are both _evil_ ," Sakura said, her voice slightly muffled by the napkin she was holding under her nose to soak up the trickle of blood leaking out, and Ino just laughed. Sakura was going to make her pay for that later.

After all, it wasn't Ino who used to win all their tickle fights.


End file.
